[b]Birth Name:[/b] Lucie Ruzicka [b]Other Names:[/b] Andel Cervenka(Male alter ego), Lady Aneta Montilyet, Daniela Musil, Katerina Myska, Gabriela Novosad, Irena & ‘Little Rose’. [b]Gender:[/b] Female [b]Age:[/b] 19 [b]Rank/Titles/Social Class:[/b] Princess of the Underground, Baroness of Thieves, One Who Knows. [b]Appearance:[/b] [hider=Female Appearance][img]https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/516b9e9b-d50f-45d7-941f-19aad8374759/de3hqkd-b79937a9-395a-4c71-991e-bc7808e1425c.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOiIsImlzcyI6InVybjphcHA6Iiwib2JqIjpbW3sicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvNTE2YjllOWItZDUwZi00NWQ3LTk0MWYtMTlhYWQ4Mzc0NzU5XC9kZTNocWtkLWI3OTkzN2E5LTM5NWEtNGM3MS05OTFlLWJjNzgwOGUxNDI1Yy5qcGcifV1dLCJhdWQiOlsidXJuOnNlcnZpY2U6ZmlsZS5kb3dubG9hZCJdfQ.kjqs_Mstn9F_4q5KrjiHerTP1VyUvxRkg9Ed_tG2xnQ[/img][/hider][hider=’Male’ Appearance][img]http://i1-news.softpedia-static.com/images/news2/Androgynous-Model-Andrej-Pejic-Becomes-the-Face-of-Marc-Jacobs-2.jpg[/img][/hider] Lucie Ružička is one of those rare gems found throughout the world, jealously guarded by overprotective fathers. She has an oval face, skin unblemished, with full, rose lips in a natural pucker, a sharp chin and high cheekbones. She has a small, straight, nose, sat under a pair of bright, amber eyes slanted slightly inwards; equally capable of being warm and kind, as they can be sharp and piercing. Waves of chestnut hair falls down her back and over her shoulders, reaching to the middle of her back, and most often hanging free—Though set up in a variety of intricate designs should the occasion demand it. Lucie is a tall woman, at 170cm or height, and lithe of build, her body being the evidence of countless hours of training. Though there is no truly chiseled muscles on her body, one does not need to look twice on her naked form to know that she has a strength few other women possess. At the same time she sports a distinctively womanly figure, with wide hips and ample bust. While not quite buxom, she is still well endowed enough that she finds nothing to complain about. [b]Personality:[/b] A meek serving girl, a ruthless head of staff, a quiet observer, and a cheerful drunk. Lucie Ruzicka can be any of these and more, but it is not truly who she is. She is not the easiest person to get close to, preferring to keep people at a safe distance where she feels that they cannot hurt her. There’s always been the risk of quickly losing a friend or acquaintance in her life, and so growing too attached is something of a risk, given that any one of them could disappear without a trace one day, only to turn up in a ditch two weeks later, throat cut. As such she very rarely lets someone know the true her, but in the event that it happens they’ll be someone she will confide in with almost everything. To most, however, she seems self confident to the point of nearly being arrogant, acting aloof in many situations and teasing in others. She is a rather curious individual, in the sense that her love for books is born out of a wish to see the world outside of what she has found herself confined in since her earliest years. She’s never outright malicious either, actually being a surprisingly benevolent person despite her calling; preferring a way out of confrontations that don’t end in violence, though she won’t shy away from it either, if the only way out is through force. She’s quick witted, and prone to idle banter, with retorts flying from her lips faster than she can sometimes think. She’s not apologetic in such situations, expecting remarks shot her way in return. More to the point, she’s not apologetic very often, mostly resigning to the fact that some people might not like her sharp mind and tongue. That aside, however, Lucie will be pleasant company to those who are not too easily offended, and are intelligent. Her morals are very much in a grey area, so the ignorant people whose worlds are white and black do not appeal to her, and neither will she appeal to them. [b]Psychic Talent:[/b] [i]Psychometry[/i] is a skill that allows Lucie to learn of objects through concentrating on related objects, or by using what she calls ‘Keywords’ when concentrating on a person. If, for example, she uses the keyword [i]‘Invaluable’[/i] and uses her talent on a person, she’ll receive a brief image of an item the person considers invaluable, as well as whatever room it is contained within. She can also turn this skill to use on people themselves to extract information about them, however this requires physical contact—skin on skin, or through thin pieces of clothing such as a shirt or through silk gloves. When using it on people she doesn’t require keywords unless she wants to learn more specific things, as simply directing the skill at someone will give her their name, age, and gender. Though the latter is very rarely important. [b]Skills:[/b] [list][*][i]Stealth:[/i]Lucie is, thanks to her background, exceptionally good at stealth. She excels at sneaking through shadows and lurking along corridors without people noticing her. She moves silently and unseen. [*][i]Agility:[/i] To say that Lucie is agile would be an understatement. A trained eye will not see that she moves with an ease born only out of years of intense training. She can run, jump, dash, and bend in ways that most people would balk at. Peasants and commonfolk would compare her speed and ease at which she moves to that of a cat or snake: She always lands on her feet, and strikes with deadly precision. [*][i]Social Adaptation:[/i] In an effort to blend in with any environment, Lucie has learned to apply make-up to look like anything from a Lady to a common street rat, or even an androgynous male. Not only that but she can mimic the dialect and behavior of both the upper and lower class to the point where neither will be able to discern her true origins. [*][i]Learned:[/i] As a result of her upbringing, Lucie can both read and write, and have even grown quite fond of books regardless of contents and topics. As a result she’s also rather knowledgeable in many fields, but far from an expert. [*][i]Memory Frames:[/i] Throughout her years, Lucie has learned that memorizing details is a vital part of her ‘job’, and as such she has taught herself to memorize certain scenes or events in near perfect condition as a ‘Picture’ in her mind. It’s not something passive, so she’ll have to consciously do it. Nevertheless, she can commit a short conversation or an event to memory, keeping it as ‘picture’ to draw upon later if need be.[/list] [b]Weapons/Fighting:[/b] Being the surrogate daughter of a Crime Lord of a major city such as Prague does not come without training to hold one’s own. As such she is fully capable of defending herself with a variety of weapons, including both guns and more primitive weaponry. A list of what she can use best. [list][*]Daggers and Knives. Her preferred weapon, as they do not impair so much on her movement, and allows for sneaking much better than any broadsword ever would. [*]Firearms. Lucie knows well how to use, load, and clean most basic firearms. She’s no expert as she prefers a dagger in the back should it be absolutely necessary, but it is within her ability to use them. [*]Poison. A Woman’s Weapon, they say. While a rare skill she employs, she has ways to obtain poison and have used it on a few occasions in the past to take out a target. [*]Brawling. Lucie is by no means a small girl, and has enough core strength in her body to take down most unarmed opponents, if she does not wish blood on her hands. [*]Swords. Basic knowledge of sword fighting as a whole, and more skilled with the lightweight rapier. [/list] [hider=History:] There are those who live rich lives, filled with luxury and the very best that money can buy taking up every ounce of their time, be it simple food or luxurious events like horse races and the like. Then there are those who toils for every flat coin coming their way, working hard to get food on the table, and make end’s meet. And then there are those in-between: Having neither trouble with money, nor really enough to truly live a life of luxury. What most of these have in common is innocence: A life lead in the sun, and smiled upon by society. The merchant providing food for those who have the coin, and the farmer doing his honest work for honest pay, and even the aloof aristocracy and nobles looking down on the commoners, doing their part to keep society afloat. All of these have one thing in common: Innocence, and ignorance of the going-ons in their world. [i]T͘w̕o҉ ͏si͢d͏es ̡t͢o͢ ́eve҉ry͡ co͞i͢ņ[/i] One who has never known the light is Lucie Ruzicka; a child born and raised in blood, coming from a family whose fates are forgotten and unknown. She has lived her life in the Shadow, doing her part to keep the underworld from going out of control, while at the same time bolstering it to new heights. She is the Princess of Thieves, and the Baroness of the Underground, man and woman, and many more names besides. Her story starts sixteen years prior, in a ditch outside of the Prague. A wail cuts through the night, the crying of a child calling out for someone, anyone, to come to it and help. A middle aged man, clearly in his late thirties, steps out of a nearby horse-drawn carriage, the rider jumping down from the front, holding up a lantern to light the way. The man walks closer to the wailing, eventually coming to a stop besides a bundled up, little girl. She has scrapes all over her body, and one of her ankles looks dislocated. Her wailing stops as the man nears, the rider’s lantern lighting up his features, showing a grizzled face that, beyond all expectations, shows sympathy. He bends down and looks the girl over, taking her small hand as she reaches out for him. He reaches out for her leg, only for her to shuffle away, shaking her head. “Foot hurt,” she muttered, sniffling. She had stopped wailing. “I know,” he replied, smiling gently. “But I can make it better. If you let me.” The girl looked hesitant at first, but didn’t move away when the man came closer. He reached out for her leg, one large hand grasping her thin calf, and the other her foot. “Now,” he said. “On three. One…” He twisted his other hand, setting the bone back in its place, prompting a loud screech of pain from the child, renewing her crying. It soon subsided, however, and she looked at his smiling face, grizzled as it was. “It don’t hurt more.” She glanced from her foot to the man, a tentative smile on her face. [hr] This was the first meeting between Lucie Ruzicka and Filip Beran; one of three Crime Lords in Prague at the time. Lucie stayed with him from that day on, being taken care of like he would a child of his own. Her childhood, however, was not a normal one. From as early as he could, he taught her a multitude of skills: How to read, write, act proper and how not to. He taught her how to move quickly and without noise, how to move without being seen, and, most importantly, how to take things without other people noticing. He also taught her how to fight and how to run, should such ever be necessary. He taught her everything a thief, infiltrator, saboteur, and assassin needed to work on his field; The ever-evolving battlefield of the underground world: The Dark side of the Coin. She became a weapon and a tool, someone who owed their loyalty—their life—to him. Eventually grew up to become a beautiful young woman, having completed enough robberies and assassinations to be known as someone more than just a simple thug, rumours even ran throughout the commonfolk of the city: One of the Crime Lords had a daughter, she was ruthless and uncaring, twisting men around her finger tip with but a dozen words, and so skilled that no one knew what she truly looked like, but they were certain she existed. Though having no known titles given to her from birth, those associated with the darker regions of the city came to know her as the Princess of the Underground, and Baroness of Thieves. There were even those who claimed that she was not a woman, but an almost equally attractive young man. Somehow the ones who spoke of this particular rumour lent more credence than the others; for they claimed to have seen and heard the very person in question. Even then, however, the titles remained, the gender not entirely known by the commonfolk. But she was not exactly as the rumours suggested. She was neither uncaring nor heartless, and though she did what her given task necessitated, it was never a pleasant experience when it came to the bloody work. The thrill of avoiding discovery and finding things thought to be unknown by everybody except the owners was something she enjoyed: Thievery, infiltrations, sabotations. Those were things that she enjoyed, finding a joy in that only a few things exceeded. Reading being one of the few things she enjoyed more. In fact, were truth to be told, she was a caring person who only did what was expected only because the alternative was gruelling to herself; beatings that would not show on her body, and days without food following if she resisted. During her time growing up, she discovered a special talent of her own that nobody else seemed to possess. She found herself capable of gaining information about people, or objects, by touch or simple concentrating on them and [i]”asking”[/i] the object or person about something; using a single word or keyphrase. She called these prompts ‘Keywords’. She told no one about it, keeping it hidden, though training it when given the chance, which was often given how many jobs she was sent on: Be it simple thievery of sabotaging one of the other two Crime Lords’ operations. At the age of eighteen, Lucie caught a strange sliver of information from a passerby whom she had used her skill on. She’d let her fingers brush his as he passed, and used the keyword ‘Secret’. The result was a flash; an image of a grand mansion followed by an understanding: Society & Psychic. She received no more information than that, but it was all she needed. From that day forward she sought more information on this Society, using her gift for both reading and her Psychic abilities to find out as much as she could. She eventually discovered that they were a Secret Society composed of Psychic people like her, and that—in so far as she knew—anyone could join so long as they were upstanding members of it. What followed were months of preparations, blackmailing, bribing, and more than a little seduction and maneuvering, and Lucie had everything in place. She had acquired a job for an assassination on Alfred Cipris, a member of the aristocracy. The message that Filip Beran received the day after was that ‘His Daughter’ had been discovered in her attempt and executed at gunpoint, her body thrown into the river. The message had come from one of the guards in Alfred’s manor, a colleague of Lucie’s, and one of the men she had both bribed and blackmailed to tell him the story she had should happen. While more than a little angry that his best tool was now gone, Filip did nothing, instead resuming his work. He had a fortune he wanted to get bigger, and that did not happen when one acted out of anger and frustration. Word quickly got out, as she had designed, that the Princess of the Underground had passed, lending more credence to the message the guard had delivered. Lucie Ruzicka was now free, and she knew just where to go. She had set her eyes upon the secret society for psychics, looking to find a use for her skills—psychic and not—that did not require the shedding of blood.[/hider] [b]Random:[/b] Her alternate names—aside from the first and the latter; the name of her male alter-ego, and a pet-name only one man knows—are in order of rank and title, with Aneta being the name of a fictional baroness she once impersonated to infiltrate a dinner party, then going on to simply being names of fictional ladies from minor houses or other nobles, and finally Irena being the name she uses when being someone without a titles. Occasionally dresses as a boy her age, using make-up, a binder, and relatively loose clothing to hide her feminine figure.